The Taoist boy's body was hung on a low wall, which was covered with blood holes and almost like a sieve. The blood had all flowed out, and the red and black bloodstains on the wall were very scary. The weather was still a little hot, and the low wall exuded a strong fishy smell.
There was complete silence all around.
Gu Pinglin examined it for a while, then turned sideways and said, "It's sword energy."
The two stood side by side. Li Moqing also saw the wounds on the body clearly, and his face looked very bad. Lan Feiyu next to him wanted to say something but stopped, and gently supported his shoulder.
Gu Pinglin glanced at Lan Feiyu casually and asked, "What do you think, Brother Li?"
Li Moqing said: "It is the Yinlan sword energy."
"What!" Not only the Yinlan disciples, but everyone in the Lingxin Sect was also shocked.
"The owner of the manor and Sect Master Gu are friends. How could we kill someone from your sect? Someone must have framed us!" A Yinlan disciple cried out, "Master Yuan, take a look."
The man called Yuan Lao was the patriarch of Yinlan Villa. He immediately stepped forward and said, "Master, can I have a look?"
Li Moqing sighed: "I can't make up my mind either. I'd better ask Master Yuan to confirm it."
Old Yuan immediately stepped forward, turned over the body and examined it carefully for a while, and his expression became strange.
Li Moqing asked: "How?"
Old Yuan frowned, slowly withdrew his hand, and glanced at Lan Feiyu beside him.
For a moment, everyone looked at Lan Feiyu.
Elder Yuan did not make any excuses, which shows that the Taoist boy Yuanyu was indeed killed by the Yinlan sword energy. The fight between Lan Feiyu and Yuanyu yesterday was witnessed by everyone. If we were to say who is the most likely murderer here, Lan Feiyu is undoubtedly the biggest suspect.
Gu Pinglin watched coldly.
A wolf is a wolf. Even the Yinlan disciples were suspicious, which showed that this boy was only obedient in front of Li Moqing and was not close to other people in Yinlan Villa, or in other words, he never regarded these people as fellow disciples.
Everyone in the Lingxin Sect had a gloomy face.
A Yinlan disciple hurriedly said, "Junior Brother Lan is the master's personal disciple. Although he has a bad temper, he would never dare to do such a thing. Someone must have framed him."
"Someone framed him--" Wan Lai drew out his voice and snapped open his folding fan. "So, everyone knows your Yinlan technique?" Only those who practice the Yinlan technique can use the authentic Yinlan sword energy. The technique cannot be imitated.
The Yinlan disciples were speechless and embarrassed by his open and implicit ridicule.
Li Moqing turned slightly and looked at Lan Feiyu.
Lan Feiyu also stared at him.
Li Moqing hesitated with a worried look on his face, and then he cupped his hands towards Gu Pinglin: "Since this matter is closely related to the Yinlan disciples, I will definitely give your sect an explanation..."
Lan Feiyu suddenly interrupted him: "Do you think it was me?"
"Why can't it be you?" Without waiting for Li Moqing to answer, Wan Lai said, "You wanted to attack Yuan Yu yesterday, but fortunately you were stopped by Master Li. Now that Yuan Yu is in trouble, who else can I suspect if not you?"
"Don't be rude!" Gan Li shouted.
Wan Lai had been forced into seclusion by him many times over the years, so he dared not disobey him. He backed away with his folding fan covering his face, and said quickly, "He is rude. Master Li is his master, and he treats you and me like this. He has no respect for his elders. Who knows if he will do something bad..."
Lan Feiyu ignored him and stared at Li Moqing and said, "I killed him. Do you believe it?"
"Look, he admitted it!" Wan Lai immediately closed his folding fan and pointed at him and shouted.
Gan Li patted his arm.
Li Moqing shouted, "Fei Yu! Calm down first."
"You guys claim to be righteous, and you find excuses to punish anyone who doesn't agree with you," Lan Feiyu's eyes were sinister, his face was a little distorted, and he sneered, "So what if I killed him? Do you want to kill me to make up for your sin?"
They had never seen him so out of control that he even dared to lose his temper at Li Moqing. The Yinlan disciples were also very surprised and hurried over to pull him back.
"Don't be rude!"
"What’s wrong with you?"
…
Li Moqing stopped everyone and was about to speak, but Gu Pinglin suddenly said, "Brother Li didn't doubt you, because you weren't the one who killed the person."
After hearing these words, not only Lan Feiyu, but also Li Moqing was stunned.
Wan Lai was surprised: "Master, how do you know it's not him?"
"Not only is he not the murderer, but he is not anyone here either," Gu Pinglin said, "This sword energy looks like the Silver Orchid sword energy, but it actually has another meaning."
When he said this, the Yinlan disciples, even though they didn't know what the "doorway" was, all breathed a sigh of relief. Then, someone reacted: "So, someone really wants to frame us?"
"Could it be that the Sky-Striking Sword is coming?" Elder Yuan said, "Fei Yu has sent away many villains. They must be holding a grudge and are trying to make us misunderstand."
"Sowing discord and killing with someone else's knife, what a vicious plan!"
…
Gu Pinglin waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet: "This matter must be directed at Yinlan Villa. I need to discuss it with Brother Li alone. Senior Brother Ren, you can take them away for the time being."
Just agree to it.
Li Moqing came back to his senses and ordered: "Master Yuan, you should also take them back."
Everyone followed Ren Ping and Yuan Lao and left.
Seeing that Lan Feiyu was still standing there, Li Moqing said, "You also go out. You are not allowed to come in without my order."
Lan Feiyu was silent.
Li Moqing said sternly: "Are you not listening to me?"
There was clear regret in Lan Feiyu's eyes. He hesitated, looked at Gu Pinglin, and finally turned around and walked out of the yard.
Outside the door, Ren Ran apologized to Master Yuan first, and the two went to the hall to talk, leaving the two sects' disciples looking at each other in embarrassment. Wan Lai, however, walked up to the Yinlan disciples with a thick face and bowed to apologize: "It's all my fault. I misunderstood you just now and said some bad words. It's all my fault. Master Yuan and my fellow disciples, please forgive me for the sake of Master Li." When he was young, he used to act like a spoiled child and didn't know what face was. Now that he has grown up, his temperament has changed a lot, but he never takes the identity of the head disciple seriously.
Li Moqing was a generous person. The Yinlan disciples had already been taught by him. Seeing that the disciples under the master took the initiative to apologize, they did not care and comforted him, "It's not your fault. I just don't know who is framing us."
After everyone speculated for a while, the atmosphere eased.
Wan Lai said: "My master and Master Li are friends, so we are friends. If I find out who framed you, I will definitely not let him off easily."
…
As soon as he came out of the yard, Lan Feiyu walked to the side alone, completely ignoring the noise here, and stared at the gate.
Wan Lai stretched his neck to look several times, and asked a Yinlan disciple: "Is he usually very fierce?"
The disciple asked, "What's wrong?"
Wan Lai covered his face with a fan and whispered, "I wanted to go and apologize to him, but I was afraid he would hit me."
The disciple really thought about it and said, "Junior Brother Lan does hold a grudge, but he listens to the owner of the manor the most. The owner of the manor is still in there, so he doesn't dare to hit you."
Wan Lai immediately said: "Then I won't go."
…
People outside were talking about it, and the two people in the yard had serious expressions.
Li Moqing waved his hand to set up a barrier and turned to Gu Pinglin: "This is indeed the Yinlan sword energy, why are you..."
"Brother Li, of course, can't admit his mistake," Gu Pinglin interrupted him, "but just relying on the Yinlan sword energy doesn't mean anything."
Li Moqing immediately asked: "What do you mean?"
Gu Pinglin said: "Brother Li, when you go to Yunya to discuss the Dao, the people you bring with you must be people you trust very much."
Li Moqing said: "Even so..."
"You also think they wouldn't do such a thing," Gu Pinglin said, "but Lan Feiyu's identity makes you unsure."
Li Moqing was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Fei Yu suffered a lot when he was young..." He coughed a few times before continuing: "In the past, when the siege of the Fantasy Land was launched, Lan Gu was killed. Fei Yu was forced to flee to the cultivation world at a young age. In order to avoid being hunted down, he suffered a lot, so he was full of hatred and had an extreme personality. However, he stole the Lingshi Milk and returned it, and also went around looking for medicine for me. It can be seen that he is not completely heartless to me as his master. Over the years, I have taught him swordsmanship, and he has actually helped me a lot. Without him, Yinlan Villa and Tianjian might not be able to be saved. If he really had malicious intentions, why would he do this? I believe he is not a bad person by nature."
Gu Pinglin asked: "How much do you know about him, Brother Li?"
"He is my apprentice after all. I have known him for so many years, so I know him a little bit." Li Moqing smiled. "Besides, since you said so, it must not be him."
Gu Pinglin motioned for him to sit down.
Li Moqing sat down on the stone bench and continued, "The Yinlan sword technique has never been passed on to outsiders. I really can't think of anyone else who can use the Yinlan sword energy to hurt people."
Gu Pinglin smiled and said, "It was indeed a Yinlan disciple who killed someone."
Li Moqing's face changed slightly, then he calmed down: "Since you said that, I think you have a clue."
"I said no just now because I didn't want to fall into the trap of the man behind the scenes," Gu Pinglin said with a fierce look in his eyes, "The one who kills may not do it intentionally. There are methods in this world that can control people's minds, such as the art of clever words, the East Sea Magic Flute, or the "Secret Book of Forbidden Heart" in the illusion world."
Li Moqing was startled: "You still doubt..."
"Lan Feiyu is the descendant of Lan Gu, possesses the "Secret Book of the Forbidden Heart", and has argued with Taoist boy Yuanyu, so he is the most likely suspect," Gu Pinglin said, then changed the subject, "But anyone could be the murderer, except him."
"What do you mean?" Li Moqing breathed a sigh of relief.
"Once Yuanyu died, everyone would first suspect him. He wouldn't be so stupid, and I know his true identity," Gu Pinglin said. "Secondly, he practiced the Secret Book of the Forbidden Heart, so he must have practiced the secret art of calming the mind and guarding the spirit. He won't be easily affected by the same kind of magic, so compared to others, he is the least suspicious."
Li Moqing sighed, "I almost fell into a trap this time, but luckily you figured it out. But the person behind the scenes probably won't give up. Who is he?"
"We cannot be sure about this matter yet," Gu Pinglin paused, "Brother Li should also be cautious. Maybe this person is coming for you and Tianjian, but maybe, he is just coming for Lan Feiyu."
Li Moqing was surprised: "Why do you say that?"
In his previous life, Lan Feiyu was a famous guardian of the Wanfa Sect. Gu Pinglin did not explain, but asked, "Brother Li, do you plan to find a Taoist partner?"
The topic changed so quickly that Li Moqing was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed: "You are..."
Gu Pinglin said jokingly, "The marriage of the noble family must have been arranged long ago. I think Brother Li has been engaged to a beautiful lady."
"It's Wei's." Li Moqing was not stupid either. He thought for a moment and asked, "Could it be related to this matter?"
Sure enough. Gu Pinglin frowned: "Brother Li, do you know how Lan Feiyu treats outsiders?"
The topic turned back to Lan Feiyu. Li Moqing didn't react for a moment and said subconsciously: "He is a loner and doesn't have many friends."
"He probably has no friends in Yinlan Villa," Gu Pinglin laughed, "Perhaps he only has deep feelings for Brother Li, and even forgets the etiquette of master and disciple. You and I are like each other, it seems that Brother Li is very important to him. If there is a master's wife, I wonder if he can accept it."
Li Moqing laughed: "How could that be?"
Gu Pinglin declined to comment and continued, "In short, Lan Feiyu's identity is really tricky. Once it is known to outsiders, Yinlan Villa will definitely be in trouble. Brother Li should be extra careful."
Li Moqing said: "I have kept Fei Yu's identity a secret from everyone in the village, so it shouldn't be leaked."
"That's good," Gu Pinglin said, "I hope he is cautious enough and doesn't let your efforts go to waste."
Could it be that Lan Feiyu revealed his identity himself
His handsome face looked solemn. Li Moqing stood up, took two steps, and then stopped.
Hatred stood between them. How could the master and the apprentice not notice it after years of living together? He knew Lan Feiyu's identity, and Lan Feiyu should have sensed it as well. They both pretended not to know. Hatred was bound by the relationship between master and apprentice, so they could continue. Once they talked about it, hatred would become a reality, and it would be a dead end.
How could he ask Lan Feiyu
Gu Pinglin understood his difficulties and walked to his side. "Things will work out when the time comes. Maybe I am overthinking. The man behind this is Chongtianjian. I think Lan Feiyu has deep feelings for Brother Li. If Brother Li wants to marry Wei, you might as well ask him what he thinks."
He mentioned Lan Feiyu and Wei twice, and Li Moqing gradually frowned.
Gu Pinglin looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. We should set off today."
Li Moqing came back to his senses: "We are only here to broaden our horizons at this Yunya event, and we are not participating in the discussion. It is fine for your sect to go first. I also have something to take care of."
The person behind the scenes will definitely cause trouble if he fails to succeed. Gu Pinglin knew that he didn't want to implicate the Lingxin Sect, so he said, "Okay."
The two of them removed the barrier, pushed open the gate and walked out. Gu Pinglin ordered the temple master to collect the body of the little Taoist boy, and asked the Lingxin Sect to go to the bird garden behind to choose mounts and prepare to set off. Li Moqing also said goodbye to the temple master and asked the people in Yinlan Villa to pack up.
Lan Feiyu stood by the wall and waited until everyone had left before he walked up to Li Moqing and knelt down with his head bowed.
Li Moqing bent down to help him up, but stopped mid-air and stood up again: "Get up."
Lan Feiyu didn't move.
Li Moqing said: "Master doesn't blame you, get up."
Lan Feiyu looked up at him, then stood up silently and followed him.
Li Moqing said: "Go wait outside first."
Lan Feiyu said "hmm", but only distanced himself from the two of them, still following them not too far away.
Li Moqing frowned.
Seeing that he was uneasy, Gu Pinglin bowed and said, "Since Brother Li has something else to do, why don't we say goodbye now? We will see each other again in Yunya."
"I'm sorry, please." Li Moqing also bowed.
The two said goodbye to each other, and the people from the Lingxin Sect changed to spirit cranes and continued on their journey. The spirit cranes were faster than eagles, and after another ten days or so, they reached Yunya.
The area below Yunya Peak was originally a wilderness, but because of the Dao Conference, no less than a thousand people had gathered. There were more than a dozen palaces close to the peak, and there were also many temporary residences and space spiritual tools of many small sects and families. Each sect kept a distance from each other, and there were many stalls selling groceries and medicines scattered around. The atmosphere here was also very subtle. Many people who came and went wore veils, and it was unclear whether they were from the righteous path or the demonic realm. Apart from buying and selling, they hardly said a word, probably to avoid trouble.
As soon as Gu Pinglin and his group arrived at Yunya, Zhan Renjie sent his disciples to invite Gu Pinglin, Bu Shuihan, Ren Ping and others to live in the Xuanming Sect's palace. Gu Pinglin asked Gan Li to contact Shengong Valley while he personally went to visit Zhan Renjie. He declined the invitation on the grounds that it would be inconvenient to have so many people. When he came back, the temporary residence had already been built.
There are not many people in Lingxin Sect, but the residence Gan Li asked Shengong Valley to build is not small. It is a small palace, which is conspicuous enough but not too ostentatious, just matching the current status of Lingxin Sect. The palace was built on the periphery, and it is also far away from the residences of other sects. The walls are forged with ancient sword wood from Shengong Valley and Laoshan stone. It looks black and very solid.
Everyone stood outside the door and looked inside. Ren Ping laughed and said, "It's a masterpiece of God. The craftsmanship of Shengong Valley is superb."
Seeing that Gu Pinglin did not express anything, Gan Li asked, "Master, what do you think?"
"That's right." Gu Pinglin put his thoughts aside and was about to be the first to enter the door when he suddenly heard a noise not far away.
"Why didn't you make a move just now! Did I pay you to play with me?"
"According to the deal, the Sword King Pavilion will only protect your safety and will not kill anyone."
Hearing the words "Sword King Pavilion", Gu Pinglin turned around, and Bu Shuihan and others also looked back at the same time.
A young man in fancy clothes was angrily scolding a man in blue: "You took my money, so you should do whatever I tell you to do!"
The man in blue had an ordinary face and was very inconspicuous. He had a cold expression and did not even look at the young man in fancy clothes: "Sword King Pavilion only follows the rules."
As expected, the people of the Sword King Pavilion are good at disguising themselves, Gu Pinglin thought to himself.
The young man in fancy clothes took a deep breath and said, "Okay, according to the rules, are you blind? He wants to kill me now, you can't just stand by and watch, right?"
"If you don't provoke him, he won't kill you," the man in blue said, "His cultivation is higher than yours. If you provoke him, you will die."
The young man in Chinese clothes sneered: "Anyway, since you took my money, you should protect me!"
The man in blue turned around and threw out two purple spirit ingots: "You spent one mid-grade spirit ingot to hire me, and I will pay you back double. The deal is done."
"What do you mean by this!" The young man was a little incredulous, and then he became furious, "I want to find your Pavilion Master to reason with you. You, the Sword King Pavilion, are not trustworthy and break the rules!"
The man in blue said sternly, "The Pavilion Master said that only when you have life can you have money. If you encounter a customer who is keen on seeking death, you should pay him with feather coins to avoid losing manpower."
Bu Shuihan and the others turned their faces away when they heard this, enduring the pain, while Wan Lai laughed loudly: "You bastard, you still have this hobby!"
"Who!" The young man glared over here, and then his face turned red, "Wan Lai!"
Wan Lai was about to taunt him again when a loud laugh suddenly came from midair. A cultivator wearing a veil came flying over: "You little brat, why are you running? I can catch you even with my eyes closed!"
The young man in fancy clothes showed fear on his face and hid behind the man in blue: "Quick, save me first! I don't want money!"
"Who can save you?" The cultivator laughed, "I want your life, and his life too!"
The black sword energy turned into a snake shape and rushed straight towards the young man in gorgeous clothes and the man in blue.
"Soul Sword Style!" Bu Shuihan recognized it at the first sight and said in surprise, "Yan Sen!"
"Hmm?" Yan Sen also noticed the people of Lingxin Sect, "It's you."
Over there, the young man in gorgeous clothes hurriedly offered up a piece of emerald green leaf. The leaf floated in the air and suddenly expanded rapidly, becoming more than ten feet long, emitting a radiant green gas. The green gas entered the ground, and many vines grew on the ground, intertwining to form a high wall to block the sword energy.
"So he's the boy from Konoha Wang Clan." Ren Ping said.
The Wang family of Konoha is not a family of sword practitioners. They practice wood energy magic. It was obvious that the young man had just formed an external elixir not long ago. How could he be a match for Yan Sen's soul sword flow? The sword energy directly penetrated the vines!
Wan Lai hurriedly put his folding fan on his waist and made sword gestures: "Wang Shiba, get out of the way!"
The young man named Wang Shiba was already panicking: "Save me!"
At the critical moment, a sword flower emerged from the ground and blocked him, but was immediately shattered by the black sword energy. Wan Lai bought this moment and dodged to pull him away.
On the other side, the man in blue faced the Soul Sword's energy and first took a few steps back. Then he suddenly tapped his toes and his figure disappeared in the sword light.
In an instant, Gu Pinglin's expression changed drastically.
Yan Sen was even more surprised: "Who are you!"
The brilliant sword light ignored the realm gap and dispersed the black sword energy. The force of the collision shook the ground and the earth and rocks collapsed!
Gu Pinglin waved his sleeves to block the aftermath for everyone. His expression was stern as he stared at the man in blue. His eyes widened slightly and his breathing became a little rapid.
In the dust, the man in blue took a few steps back before he stood still. He looked at Yan Sen warily and replied, "Sword King Pavilion, Wind Sword Twelve."
Wind Sword Twelve is obviously just a code name.
Without waiting for Yan Sen to speak, Gu Pinglin suddenly asked, "May I ask the name of your sect leader?"
After witnessing the swordsmanship of the Sword King Pavilion disciples, everyone was very curious about the mysterious Pavilion Master. They pricked up their ears, but heard Feng Jian Twelve answer: "The Pavilion Master is the Pavilion Master."
What kind of answer is this? Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yan Sen suddenly turned around and fled.
Feng Jian Twelve also breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, put away his sword, and left alone.
Bu Shuihan praised: "Excellent swordsmanship! The Sword King Pavilion is worthy of its name. I wonder what kind of person the Pavilion Master is?"
Wang Shiba blushed and thanked Wan Lai. After all, they were not young anymore, so Wan Lai stopped mocking him and led him to see Gu Pinglin. Wang Shiba was also a child of aristocratic family, so he straightened his robe and made no mistakes in etiquette: "Wang Yuxi of Muye Wang Clan, I meet Master Gu, thank you for saving my life."
Gu Pinglin waved his hand and said, "No need to be polite. Since you are friends, we can meet by chance today and reminisce about the past. Wan Lai, you should entertain the guests and let someone inform the Wang family."
Wang Yuxi was afraid of Yan Sen and did not dare to go back alone, so she quickly agreed when she heard what he said.
Gu Pinglin led everyone into the palace and handed the matter of settlement to Gan Li. He then left the main hall alone, walked into the room in the main building, closed the door, walked quickly to the table, and subconsciously reached out to pour tea, but saw that the table was empty. Then he remembered that the palace was just built and there was no tea set.
My hands are still shaking.
Gu Pinglin clenched his fingers and slowly put them behind his back.
so similar.